Google Reveals What Games, Consoles Teens Think Are Cool

The youthful demographic prefers Xbox over PlayStation.

By Evan Campbell

The Legend of Zelda, Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft are among a handful of the most popular game franchises for teenagers, according to a new study.

It's all part of a Google guide that researched what teens — specifically, Generation Z, which includes people born between the mid-1990's and the early 2000's — think are cool. But those series aren't alone. When it comes to games, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Pokemon also sit at the top for the youthful demographic. For the purposes of the study, Google classifies Gen Z as teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17.

Switching from games to consoles reveals that Xbox is the coolest brand for Gen Z. This is an important difference compared to Millennials, who are aged 18 - 24 in this study, who believe PlayStation is cooler.

Google used data from three research studies of 400 teens classified under Gen Z for the guide. 800 Millennials were also polled for the guide. What's interesting is that teens responded to surveys from May to July last year, meaning games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokemon Sun and Moon weren't even out yet when those most popular games were chosen.